pow.

world series champs!

once in a life time. just do it.

<3

So, after successfully not using heat I’ve come up with some tips and tricks for how to say no to heat, or at least stay away from your flat iron. 

Number 1: Out of Sight Out of Mind - get your flat iron off your bathroom counter or make up stand. If you see your flat iron or blow dryer you are going to want to use it. I know you are! Been there. Put your flat iron somewhere that isn’t easy to access, like your closet with your out of season clothes, or in your little brothers dirty clothes hamper (you’ll never wanna use it then ;) But seriously, put it out of your line of vision. You’d be surprised at how much that will help.

Number 2: Give yourself a small time frame. If you set an unrealistic goal as a recovering heat addict, you’ll continue to relapse and be disappointed and frustrated. Try telling yourself “I’m not going to use heat for 1 week.” See how that goes. Once that works out well, try 2 weeks, then a month.. once you’ve set yourself to a standard it will get easier. I promise. After my first month of not straightening my hair I was like “uhhhh I don’t even feel like straightening this mess.” I go used to not straightening it.. It actually became an inconvenience for me..

Number 3: Manipulation. Okay, this I think is what helped me the  MOST with my heat free journey. I used so many different techniques and tricks for making my  hair appear straight or at least tamed and manageable . Twist outs. Braid outs. Pig Tails. Bantu Knots. Curl Formers. Flex Rods. You name it. I was doing it. I did use a blow dry 4 times in the time that I was on this no heat challenge but 4 times in a year and on low setting? You can’t beat that. Anyway, demonstrating these different types of manipulative styles  will be the next chapter of my No Heat Challenge methods for success.. Enjoy! 

***If you must, use a blow dryer on low heat and a good heat protectant. Preserve this look by wrapping your hair at night, or wearing it in loose braids**

Open for suggestions for posts

Always..

-Baker B

girls, curls and booze <3

love me

hi, i’m here to help ;)

This picture is from April 2011 (last year) to April 2012 (a few days ago). I actually got started on this whole “natural awareness” boat by coincidence. I really wanted a Huetiful Hair Steamer and they were having a contest to be the spokesperson. I figured if I won.. I could get a free hair steamer.. Needless to say, I didn’t win because I’m not on the box. But I did get picked as a finalist and was sent a consolation prize of a steamer. I used it a few times and couldn’t figure out if it was for me or not. At this point I really wanted to try to do more hair healthy activities and I got really into the natural community. I shadowed the practices of Urban Bush babes Nikisha, and Taren916 & KaiRox46 on youTube. Over the years I use whatever shampoo and conditioner that you put in my hand that made my hair feel good. I flat ironed and colored my hair ruthlessly. One day I was like “wow, I haven’t flat ironed my hair in two weeks *shrugs* I wonder how long I can go with it.” Next thing I know.. It’s been 3 months, then 9 months and now.. an entire year.  So that was the first thing and actually my ultimate goal - no more flat iron. I hid it in my closet and haven’t used it probably since the end of March 2011. I did do a few blow outs within the time period (towards the last 9 months) and felt TERRIBLE. My hair felt weird, kind of crispy.. after blow drying on the low setting.. so I haven’t done that in a while. The secret to successfully not using heat or my flat iron was alternative styling. I did lots of knot , braid and twist outs, curl formers, flexi rods and flat twists. They made my hair manageable and stretched without heat. In addition to not using heat, I switched over to organic or natural products. I tried everything from Karen’s Body Beautiful to Karen’s Daughter to making my own stuff. I did actually strike gold with some of the oils that I’d learned about online through the natural community. I use tea tree, rosemary and olive oil on my scalp everyday faithfully for all of the month of June .. I got really busy with school and couldn’t focus on that so I kind of stopped doing it. I was then introduced to coconut oil which worked WONDERS for moisturizing my naturally dry and thirst hair. I would do overnight treatments and wash and gos with it. I still use the coconut oil but not as frequently. I tried avocados, bananas and eggs.. I even bought that DevaCurl book and read all of Chicoro’s Grow it at Barnes and Nobles one day.. I was serious business about my hair! I had been using shampoo with sulfates in it for a long time so I just started the ‘no poo’ regimen - per DevaCurl. That was cool because it just cut a step out of my daily routine. My hair doesn’t get a lot of build up or weighed down so it worked for me. I started doing co washes every few days. I found a leave-in and deep conditioner that worked for me and ran with it. Not using heat, combs or brushes and checking labels was working optimally so I started “dusting” my ends and stopped coloring my hair. That was a painful one, I LOVE my color. (I did cheat a month or two ago to get that Rihanna hombre, which I will say I’m LOVING). It was harder to not color my hair more than it was to not flat iron. There are alternative ways to getting straight (or partially straight) hair but there’s nothing you can do about color. I had a red rinse for a while and that held me over for about 6 months, but like I said.. Color is a tough addiction ;) . I’ve never had a perm before but I imagine color is to me as “creamy crack” is to those who’ve had perms. Inadvertently related to hair growth and hair health, I started working out, sleeping on a satin pillow case, eating healthy and supplementing with 2500mcg Biotin on and off for the span of the year. I’m sure those things contributed to my success. A lot of it was mental just as much as it is physical. I felt like I was obsessing over my hair, and I think other people thought/still think I am/was. I was/am always conscious of my hair, is the wind blowing it? is it too tight? is it getting to much sun? is my purse strap pulling it? Little things like that seemed to make a difference. I really have been babying my hair and it’s been a lot of work but I really feel like it’s worth it. My hair goal is Shakira, the singer’s, length, Chaka Khan’s volume and RhiRhi’s color.. half way there :D

<3 classic.

keep. it. up.